theadvantagesanddisadvantagesofyoutubekidsfandomcom-20200215-history
Prewriting
In this article, we can begin the prewriting stage. On this, I think we can discuss how we want to structure the essay. We can each add our portions that we've started on to this article via edits (although I know the paper isn't due until next week, so no worries if you don't have your portion written up yet), and I think we should make edits directly in the page and sign them. That way, on the actual Writing page, we can insert our portions and make anonymous edits instead of discussion or obvious changes (thus making it look more like a rough draft than a working draft). We could very well get the bulk of (if not all of) our paper written this week--or we can at least get a good jump on next week! If you ladies prefer to do things a different way, please don't hesitate to share! Taking the instructor feedback into consideration, I've refocused the introduction and thesis. On the introduction page is where we can decide which thesis is best, but to get this on paper, I went ahead and selected one for the time being. PLEASE recommend changing it if you think it needs to be changed! Possible Introduction (Erika): "In a world where technology and social media become the gospel of so many, and in a world where there is hardly a single person unaffected by social media, online experiences have become a great and terrible thing. While there are all different types, one of the most widely used platforms is a media sharing site called YouTube, on which users can create, upload, and share a variety of types of videos and other media. Millions have and still do benefit from YouTube for various reasons, and with its popularity, it is only natural that YouTube would create a similar platform but meant entirely for children: YouTube Kids. While it was intended for good, there are, unfortunately, those who would abuse and pervert a good thing. From horrifying to disturbing to disgusting content, people of all ages and demographics are at risk of finding something traumatizing due to the sadistic individuals who relish causing disharmony, shock, and upset. This disturbance is problematic on its own, but it becomes borderline epidemic when the most vulnerable of viewers are also at risk on a platform meant entirely 'to make it safer and simpler for kids to explore the world through online video - from their favorite shows and music to learning how to build a model volcano ... and everything in between' (YouTube Kids). Recent discoveries have revealed that on this children's platform there are videos romanticizing suicide and encouraging harm to oneself and others. It is becoming increasingly difficult to make sure that everyone is as protected as they can be while using the Internet and YouTubes, and while it is important to try and devise a way to keep things safer for all users, it is most important to first try and make a platform with 'kids' in the title safer for its intended users. In order to make this valuable and beneficial platform safer for its intended users, parents should take a more proactive stance by still allowing them access, monitoring what they are watching, and encouraging (demanding?) YouTube Kids administrators to alter their policies by having real people monitor videos that are intended for real children." What is YouTube (Hannah): ''' One must be wondering what YouTube is. Let alone what in the world is YouTube Kids. Well, to put it simply, YouTube is a video-sharing website for people to share videos they upload of someone or something they desire for the world to see. Videos can range from anything and everything. One could see videos of people and their families through a type of video called a vlog. One could learn how to do something like a craft or make a certain food. One may even be able to do video tours of a place they want to visit or will be visiting soon. Really the options are endless when it comes to video content. Here is where the big problem begins. There are not a lot of limitations on what can and can’t be shared. Making it risky for parents to allow their children to watch YouTube without consistent supervision. After all, YouTube can easily be considered one of the most popular video sharing platforms available today. '''The Advantages of YouTube (Heather): In a 2015 study on young children and touch screens in Australia, Holloway, Green, and Stevenson concluded that “(g)iven the ubiquitous role played by digital media in the lives of their parents and other caregivers it would be a distortion of everyday life for children to be excluded from the technologies that are routinely used to connect with other people and with information” (Holloway, Green, & Stevenson, para. 32). With this in mind, parents can feel motivated to find platforms through which their children can safely learn to navigate digital media, and one such platform is the YouTube Kids app which Google bills as the “best video app for all kids” and “a world of learning and fun, made just for kids” (Google). The intent of the app is to bring the ability of exploring online videos to children on a platform that parents can customize through a multitude of parental controls. In a study on apps and mobile parenting, Benjamin Burroughs (2017) quotes the Google Official Blog with Google’s assertion that the “YouTube Kids app (is) the ‘first building block in tech for tykes’” (pg. 3). Burroughs (2017) also noted that “YouTube positioned the app as a safe space and solution to many of the problems with digital parenting in an era of smartphones and tablets” (p. 3). No parent wants their child to encounter inappropriate content, and with the YouTube Kids app not only are the uploaded videos already curated, but parents can turn off the search feature and set a playlist of only videos and channels they have approved. If something comes up that a parent does deem inappropriate, that video or channel can be blocked and reported, which immediately flags it for review by YouTube. YouTube does stress that these controls need to be set and managed by a parent for the best experience (Google, 2015). Google can offer YouTube Kids for free because they include advertising, but a premium subscription is available that removes ads. This can be especially beneficial for parents aiming to extend their child’s focus and attention span by eliminating frequent scene changes (support needed). The Disadvantages of YouTube (Jessica): The Major Concern (Tabitha): YouTube Kids is supposed to be a kid friendly version of YouTube that children can navigate freely while parents can be confident that their children will be exposed to no malicious content. Unfortunately, the system has failed numerous times in preventing inappropriate content from reaching children. An automated system is set in place in order to filter out inappropriate videos, but this system does not catch every malicious video. “The automated process -- one YouTube calls very thorough -- can take days. A human doesn't check the videos before they're added, but parents can flag videos they find alarming later and a content reviewer will check it out. However, it is unlikely parents are constantly watching YouTube Kids videos along with their children. It's possible this safety guard isn't sufficient for catching every odd video your kid might see” (Kelly, 2018). Some disturbed users have found a way around the system by either hacking, or by inserting snippets of inappropriate content between clips of a children's program. While YouTube Kids has now implemented a feature that allows parents to flag such videos as inappropriate, this still leaves an issue that is not addressed. In order for these videos to be flagged, a child will more than likely have to see the content. At this point they are already exposed to the video, and it could potentially scar them. Additionally, when a video is flagged, it still needs to be reviewed before it is removed, which means that in the meantime, more children could be exposed to the content. While there is a filtration system in place, it is not getting the job done well enough to protect the children the platform is meant for. Where We Stand/How We Feel/How To Fix (Emily): Conclusion (Melissa):